INTERVIEW
Mr. Muhammed Sani Bala is the Secretary General of Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC). He is also the Secretary of Nexus Association of Maritime Transport Operators (NAMTOP) as well as the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO). In this interview with Joshua Yousouph, he dwells on the challenges of road haulage in Lagos.
· “The in-bound and out-bound port access roads are infested with extortion bandits”
· “COMTUA as far as I am concerned has been disbanded by its founding members”
· “NPA, NSC and the Ministry should support Port Standing Task Team
What is your appraisal of the maritime industry in the year 2023?
Well, in the year 2023, we witnessed so many developments like the introduction of Export Processing Terminals to facilitate the movement of exports to overseas locations to boost foreign revenue for the Nigerian economy. We also witnessed a rise in the volume of export commodities. But in terms of movement of trucks, especially as it has affected the maritime transport operators, we witnessed a lot of challenges that negatively affected our businesses as well as our revenue such as the artificial barrier to movement of trucks. I’m talking of multiple checkpoints of extortions in both Apapa and Tin Can logistics corridor. We have area buys, miscreants, street urchins and so on. There were so many challenges.
You have mentioned some of the challenges faced. Can you also mention specific gains or benefits that were achieved in 2023?
I cannot say anything tangible concerning any gain, because other actors in the maritime ecosystem could boast of gains, not the transport aspect. This is because we have been having revenue loss. If we drop an empty container at one of the terminals, we pay money, on the road, enforcement and security operators also collect money from us. If we enter the terminals to drop the loads, they collect money from us. The in-bound and out-bound port access roads are infested with excursion bandits. If traffic agencies or authorities impound our trucks, they impose outrageous charges for the release of our trucks. If you look at our trucks, you will see that they are not physically okay. All the extortion bandits along Mile 2, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lekki and along the port access roads are responsible for it. You see containers falling with the goods due to area boys stopping and dragging the wheels with drivers. Many importers have lost their goods. Many truckers have also lost their trucks due to all these accidents that are happening. So, there’s nothing good to say about any progress in the transport sector because of the challenges.
The roads are bad. Any time our trucks get to those places, they will slow down and of course, container burglars will be there to cut the container and steal from it. The truck hijackers will be there to hijack trucks from drivers and also, the traffic armed robbers are also there to attack our drivers as well as the extortion bandits, the hoodlums and ‘agberos’ who are the truck union collecting agents. The policemen are also there.
Having looked at all these challenges, what are your expectations in the transport and haulage sector in 2024?
My expectations are solutions to our problems from the regulators of the industry. The Nigerian Port Authority, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Lagos State Government – to see how they can support our activities, most especially the Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operations Committee because we have been moving up and down, seeing how we can promote trade facilitation, ease traffic gridlock, ensure imminent evacuation of cargo and also drive away miscreants from the roads. So, we want them to help us so that we can have ease of doing transportation, business within and outside the maritime industry. They should support LASTCOC under the chairmanship of Alhaji Lukuma Shittu Zangalo, so that we can end the majority of problems that are taking a serious toll on the progress and stability of the trucking business.
There are some insinuations that there is division among truckers. What are your thoughts on this?
In every unity, there must be conflict or opposites. Of course, the division is between the forces of orderliness and the forces of disorderliness. We believe in orderliness and sanity while others believe that revenue can only be achieved through cutting corners. They believe progress can only be achieved through insulting and confronting authorities causing all sorts of chaos. We believe in dialogue and peaceful approach to solving issues, while some people believe that if you don’t insult, lampoon and blackmail, there is no way progress can be achieved. So, that is the line of difference between them and us. For us, we believe in peaceful and amicable resolution of issues and challenges affecting transporters in relation with the government and other stakeholders in the industry.
How would you describe the current disposition of former executives of COMTUA and NAMTOP looking at the fact that COMTUA has been disbanded?
Well, I am not a member of COMTUA. The Association of Maritime Truck Owners is not a member of COMTUA. So, COMTUA as far as I am concerned has been disbanded by its founding members which include; NARTO, MWUN and other associations that formed COMTUA. It has been disbanded. COMTUA does not exist anymore. So, whoever is fronting COMTUA or parading himself as head of COMTUA is just an impostor. COMTUA does not exist, as far as I am concerned.
You are a Chieftain under LASTCOC, how would you describe the activities of LASTCOC so far?
As being displayed and published all over social media outlets, we have been moving around to ensure there is free flow of traffic. We have been collaborating with relevant agencies and authorities to ensure all these miscreants who are disturbing our businesses are taken off the roads. Sooner or later, the Lagos State Task Force will embark on anti-miscreant operations to make sure that they chase away all these miscreants from all these logistic points that they are using to extort truckers, drag containers and trucks attacking our drivers as well as destroying our trucks. All these miscreants, extortion bandits and hoodlums in their logistic groups have nothing to offer to the Nigerian economy, apart from destruction of lives and properties. They are the major issue Nigeria is facing. Nigeria is having the problem of lack of trade facilitation, ease in movement of cargo, and also free flow of traffic. So, LASTCOC is not resting on its oars to make sure that it collaborates with relevant authorities to make sure that the Nigerian economy, particularly the transportation business is liberated from the shackles of all these miscreants causing havoc on our logistic corridors.
There are allegations that the port access roads are now becoming more congested because of the inactivity of the Port Standing Task Team. What are your thoughts on this?
As far as I’m concerned, the Port Standing Task Team was doing a fantastic job to ensure there is free flow of traffic on the out-bound section of the port access roads in the past. The Task Team is having the problem of logistic manpower and finance in order to sustain the tempo of their operations. So, if you say, the out-bound section is becoming congested because PSTT is no more there, or their operations are not like before, I won’t be surprised. This is because without money, there is no way they can sustain their activities and achieve the goal of their operations. There’s no way PSTT can carry out their duties efficiently and perfectly without these factors. So on this note, I’m calling on the Nigerian Port Authority, the Shipper’s Council, the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to support Port Standing Task Team under their active Chairman, Mr. Moses Fadipe because the man is very committed and he’s passionate about the mandate of the PSTT. They should support them with adequate funding, so as to boost their manpower, support their logistics, and other necessary requirements in order to be able to do their work efficiently so that the outbound section of the port access road and logistics will be free from any obstacles. So I think the major challenge for PSTT is funding. They should be well-funded so that they can do their work.
Finally Sir, what are your recommendations to see that the port access is actually free from traffic for in-bound and out-bound trucks?
The Police, LASTMA and the Federal Road Safety Corps should see what they can do to calibrate their men. This is because, of course the checkpoints are there and there are people who are sitting there. So, all the heads of traffic and security agencies along the port access roads, should calibrate their men to do the work they are supposed to do in promoting traffic and ensuring security of lives and properties. Instead, they are coming there with their agenda of revenue generation, doing the work of traffic and security. But the two cannot go at the same time. They have to choose one and leave the other. The issue of revenue generation is the reason we are having all sorts of extortion, indiscriminate parking and sometimes artificial gridlock along the port access roads. So, they should calibrate their men so that they can focus on security, enhancing traffic sanity and orderliness in the port corridor.
